The NHL, NHLPA, and IIHF finally came to an agreement on Friday regarding player participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics on Sochi, Russia. With that agreement in place, countries participating in ice hockey at the Olympics could move forward with their roster decisions, safe in the knowledge that they wouldn’t have to craft a roster around Canadians playing in the AHL and Europe.

I can just imagine one of Team Canada’s Spengler Cup teams going up against a Russian team loaded with KHL talent and it’s not particularly pretty.

Fortunately, that won’t be happening in Sochi, as the roster for Team Canada’s Olympic development camp was announced Monday and it’s full of NHL talent, including two members of the Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo and Dan Hamhuis.

Roberto Luongo is a lock for the team after supplanting Martin Brodeur during the 2010 Olympics and winning gold. While he got some flack from some corners for allowing the tying goal in the final minute of regulation in the gold medal game that sent it to overtime, Luongo made 34 saves in that game, including four in the overtime period ensuring that Sidney Crosby was able to score the golden goal.

It also ignores his fantastic performance throughout the rest of the tournament, including his incredible save on Pavol Demitra in the dying seconds of the semifinal against Slovakia, sending Team Canada to the gold medal game. Luongo finished with a .927 save percentage in the tournament.

Luongo is the favourite to be the starter for Canada, particularly considering that he’s the only goaltender invited to camp that has actually been on an Olympic roster before. Carey Price is the most likely number two man, with Corey Crawford, Braden Holtby, and Mike Smith battling for the third spot.

Dan Hamhuis has a tougher row to hoe to make Team Canada, as Canada’s defensive depth is impressive. Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, and Shea Weber are sure things and Brent Seabrook, Alex Pietrangelo, and PK Subban are likely as well. That leaves just a couple depth spots available, with some very good defencemen competing for them.

The main thing in Hamhuis’s favour is that he’s a left-handed shot, with many of Canada’s top defencemen being right-handed shots. He’s also one of the steadiest defenders in the league, which may give him a leg-up in comparison with some of the riskier choices. Add in his strong performance at the 2013 World Championships and his 24 points in 47 games last season, tied for 10th among Canadian defencemen, and it’s clear why he got the invitation and why he has a strong chance of representing Canada in Sochi.

If Hamhuis does make Team Canada, it will be some nice validation for one of the most humble players in the NHL. Hamhuis is always hesitant to step into the limelight, but the strength of his play has earned him this opportunity and he deserves it.

3 comments

mb13

July 22, 2013

hehehe – “…including his incredible save on Pavol Demitra in the dying seconds of the semifinal against Slovakia.” yep – the save was necessary because of the 3-1 goal he let in with 8 mins left (from an impossible angle) and the 3-2 goal he couldn’t control the rebound.

That’s the problem with Lu – he’ll need a team in front of him to outscore his mistakes because, frankly, he makes too many of them. Luckily with Team Canada, he has that. That’s why it is hilarious to call him the gold medal winning goalie because he happened to be in net for the tournament. It’s similar to calling Trent Dilfer a Super Bowl winning quarterback. Luongo and Dilfer’s jobs were similar – don’t screw it up for the rest of the guys. But let’s not get ahead ourselves in praising them for not losing.

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Nee

July 22, 2013

Very excited for Hamhuis!

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Mt

July 23, 2013

If I were naming this team (surprisingly, I’m not) Dan.H would be a lock. He’d be a great partner for one of the higher risk D-men. If he could do for someone like Doughty what he does for Bieksa, he’d be a huge asset. To me he’s the perfect complement to all star players that helps to avoid the too-much-talent-not-enough-team-factor. I hope he makes it.

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Rating: +7 (from 7 votes)

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